


Catalyst

by Bravehardt



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Cloak of Levitation (Marvel), Comfort/Angst, M/M, Mind Manipulation, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Ratings are subject to change, Sexual Humor, Sexual Tension, i'll add more characters as the story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-07-29 14:27:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16266098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bravehardt/pseuds/Bravehardt
Summary: Annexing his zealots, Dormammu fled from the earth on Strange’s terms in exchange for liberation from his time-bound prison. However the incident had merely been a catalyst for a much grandeur scheme.With a dark pathogen implanted in Strange as his last resort, it laid dormant until after the events on Titan. And as the world's sanctums were left unguarded during Thanos’ genocidal purge, the dark lord seized his opportunity to strike. And so spread a pandemic that sought to take over and disable earth’s last line of mystical defense, crippling it's mystical protectors.However Dormammu failed to factor into account a very important detail: One very pissed off mechanic in a super-suit who wasn't about to just roll over when things started to go belly-up.





	1. The Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I'm new to writing here and this is my first story! I also don't really have people to proof my work so I apologize if you find some odd phrasing or spelling errors I may have missed. I'm winging the story with a loose outline so as I write more, appropriate tags will be added for characters and content warnings :'] 
> 
> Also if you see any issues, feel free to message them to me, I'd love to improve and revise any outstanding errors! <3

  

_Heavy eyelids parted to a burning crimson sky with blue tendrils of lightning streaking violently across an orange expanse. They fragmented an already chaotic vista of a burning home-world long left to decay and illuminated centuries of devastation._

 

_There was a dull pain resonating in Stephen’s sinuses as he dared to lift his head up in an almost drunken fog. His vision blurred at the corners, head aching as if he’d been struck with a blunt object. Yet his body moved unhindered and weightlessly as he made to migrate his posture upwards._

 

_He felt the chaffing of sand or dirt between his dry fingertips as his trembling hands clenched to whatever surface he had been laying prone on for leverage._

 

_Where was he currently? Had they not taken down the mad titan? Had everything he’d worked so hard for been for naught…?_

 

_Stephen pressed down on his palms, using the ground to lift his aching bones so he could better inspect his surroundings. Despite his slow deliberate movements he was rewarded with a head-rush, accompanied by a nagging pain._

 

_He clenched his eyes and teeth shut to misdirect the horrible throbbing._

 

_He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, feel the reverberating thrumming in his chest as he cast his gaze skywards, the horizon flickering with creeping dark clouds._

 

_Everything felt so surreal, so unnatural..._

 

_He couldn’t remember anything nor could he see anyone, and when he let out a groan - he made no sound at all. He could hear noise when his body moved along the arid ground, and the unusually gentle gale which sung in his ears as it whipped by him picking up loose scraps of debris or whatever it could carry._

 

_But still he himself could not speak._

 

_A low drum of thunder rolled evenly, sharpened by staccato accents as those dark clouds approached. They spread and grew at an alarming rate until the once crimson sky was covered by a veil of dark stratocumulus clouds. Each streak of lightning rang out with an accompanying sonic crack, blue streaks bleeding red and dark purple as they were devoured by the sky._

 

_The clouds suddenly split asunder like rippling waves and began to form something new. Moving and coiling in on themselves to create two parallel voids, the lightning in the sky pouring into each one to paint the visage of a burning violet-blue gaze._

 

_Irises swirled with a dark lilac inferno in the now ebony sky as the clouds parted at the horizon of the heavens to reveal a cascading sea of crimson and stars which choked out the decaying firmament._

 

_Every bone in Stephen’s body was frozen, paralyzed with fear as those eyes grew brighter, larger, enough to dwarf him in their presence. They grew closer, beginning to converge on him with unparalleled speed instilling a sense of hopelessness and helplessness within the mind._

 

_Dread, pure dread seeped in and overtook the sorcerer to his core._

 

_“Strange”_

 

_A recognizable voice._

 

_His body flinched and he felt the fear begin to melt away. The voice was a faint, merely an echo in his head which he attempted to respond to - but as he formed the words in his mouth he still couldn’t speak._

 

_He dared to look around, some of the paralysis dispelling as he moved his neck to the side to try and find it's source._

 

_“-Hey” Something touched his shoulder and his heart felt like it went from zero to one-hundred in less than a millisecond. Those eyes swelled with a burning malevolence before the horizon, and the sky began to shrink away from him as if it were being funneled away at light speed. There was a terrifying shriek followed by a whisper and the last thing he remembered was being swallowed up by the heavy embrace of a that dark fog._

 

_And then everything went black._

 

Stephen’s muscles spasmed and his entire body jerked. His knuckles were bear white from clutching the sheets of his bed and he’d awoken to a guest at his bedside table with a chair pulled up next to him.

 

He was still slightly disoriented.

 

Tony still had his hand gently resting on Strange’s shoulder, probably a little longer than he’d anticipated but it was hard for him to keep his concern leveled when the sorcerer who he basically owed his life to had been the last to recover after the incident. 

 

Stephen was hyperventilating, his chest rising and falling. He took a deep breath to break the fit.

 

Tony finally retreated and settled back to rest his elbows on his knees instead of the  _unnecessarily_ persisting body contact. Although when he did remove his hand, that’s when Strange tilted his head to look over at him.

 

Tony observed with a fixed gaze as he swallowed, the lump in his throat bobbing before he opened his mouth to try and speak.

 

“Just a bad dream-” Stephen started, relieved at the sound coming out of his mouth. His voice rumbled low with the slur of sleep still on his tongue. His eyes had fixated on where Tony's hand had been resting before flicking up to meet his gaze. He still looked a little startled but he relaxed a little in Stark’s presence.

 

“-Another” Tony corrected with a pause “-Bad dream…” Scrunching his brow with a lopsided frown. 

 

“Just came to stop by, figured you could use some company” He verbally beat around the bush, but worked himself up to the true sentiment. Tony was used to being blunt and forward but with Strange it was something different. For one, the man always had this cat-like gaze that managed to quiet him up whenever he focused on him. As well, Tony couldn't help but regard Stephen in some aspects as a superior, despite them being even in most if not all cognitive and physical aspects.

 

“Company” Stephen repeated, he couldn’t help but let out a breathy laugh, his head tilting back so he could stare at the ceiling and let out a relaxed sigh. As much as the two of them liked to jest and argue, he felt comfortable in Tony’s presence. He didn’t exude a nervous energy like some people he frequented, and despite Tony’s ego being about as big as his own - the competitive side of Stephen liked to poke at it and enjoyed the smart comments and banter that was generally exchanged in their light-hearted verbal duels.

 

“It’s not like you to do house calls...”

 

“Yeah, how ironic - but seriously doc” Tony rolled his eyes and paused for a moment “I really owe you one, back there on Titan... what you did for me-” Tony could feel his heartbeat race as he verged on feelings territory, sentiments such as these weren’t his strongest suit.

 

But Stephen immediately interjected, cutting him off. 

 

“-Tony, I did what needed to be done.” He started, practically exhaling the sentence as if it was just something he’d been duty-bound fulfill, very matter-of-fact like. 

 

_And it had been._

 

His face wrinkled in pain as that headache continued to drum in his sinuses once more.

 

_Christ not again..._

 

Strange had been exhibiting flu like symptoms for the past few weeks with no signs of getting better. At first it was manageable but eventually his condition deteriorated to the point of frequent episodes of vertigo. Menial tasks were often disrupted by these episodes if he didn’t lay down and rest for hours during the day. Although despite there being no physical wounds or serious issues asides from the dizziness and headaches, Strange had grown rather pale in complexion and physically fatigued, and these smaller persisting symptoms were cause for worry.

 

During these periods Tony had made several attempts to reach out to him to discuss an under-the-table affiliation with the Avengers initiative. Some involvement to help out given that Strange would be a valuable  _asset to the team._ But not enough so that his duty to the sanctum or guardianship could be at all hindered by the crippling Sokovia Accords that loomed over operations with a heavy hand.

 

However every attempt to reach out was in vein. Calls weren’t answered, messages had been passed by Wong in brief communicative contact but not returned and so as the weeks passed on by, both Tony’s patience and anxiousness to  _see Strange_ in general had worn thin. It was unavoidable if he were to walk right up to the Sanctum and pay a visit, and that’s just what he did. Stark practically invited himself in despite Wong’s protests and a five-minute scuffle with a floating over-protective cloak had tony walking through the sanctum like nobody's business.

 

If Stephen had been in better spirits, perhaps he would have been annoyed with the intrusion. But having little to no company or human interaction despite Wong’s spotty check-ups on the sanctum left him unable to feel anything but loneliness while at his lowest.

 

So although Tony was the last person he expected to show up, it was rejuvenating to have such a lively aura and presence like Tony’s around him. He was a creator, a mechanic, an innovator and he inspired and strove to create. He had forward momentum and an energy about him that both clashed with Stephen’s yet at the same time, somehow complimented it too. 

 

“Oh come’on doc just take the damn compliment” He leaned over and stared Strange down who refused to meet his gaze.

 

In response he got a disciplined side-glance and another deep exhale. However Tony was rewarded with a crack in the facade as the corners of Stephen’s lips dared to twitch and curl into a subtle smile that he more than likely tried  _very_ hard to hide.

 

_Tony smiled in turn._

 

“-Anyways, I didn’t just come over here to kiss your ass, as much as I know how you like to hear it” He quipped with a smirk. “I came over here to talk to you about some business, but it’s clear to me that this really isn’t the time” Tony’s conscience prodded at him to leave. Strange needed rest but at the same time… _maybe he’d been sleeping all day?_ And that small - well not _small and_ selfish part of him wanted to stay and keep sorcerer company.

 

Strange instantly turned to look up at Tony as if he was expecting the mechanic to up and leave following that statement. But to his surprise tony paused, or at least didn’t seem to make any efforts to excuse himself.

 

And this alleviated his spirits just _a little bit._

 

Stephen began to shimmy up along the mattress so his back was propped up against the pillow and headboard of the bed. He was finally getting up. 

 

He rubbed his forehead with a soft hiss.

 

“-No, no…”Stephen started. It was clear he was expending effort in trying to stay vertical as he sat up and slid his legs over the side of the bed, now facing Tony.

 

“What did you have on your mind…?” He continued to rub his head with a tremoring palm, removing some sweat that had built up. Where previously he’d been resting in a casual loose tee and simple slacks, his blue tunic had been conjured in place of it to garb himself for duty and without a word, his cloak was by his side in an instant.

 

Stephen’s relic circumvented him as he made to stand up. At first he attempted to stand on his own, but his knees were weak and buckled underneath him.

 

_-and then he stumbled into Tony._

 

_Crap._

 

Stark’s hands immediately went for Strange’s forearms to catch the poor man. In turn, Stephen’s hand had grappled to Stark’s shoulder out of instinct to steady himself.

 

“-Well, not this for one” Tony blinked, looking over at the hand with a fist-full of his shirt. His stomach flipped nervously and he cleared his throat. “But if you really wan’t to go there - we can” He added on, regaining his composure as he teased the sobered wizard.

 

The pace of his heart had quickened and Stephen was chagrined to say the least. It was unnatural how fast Tony had reacted to Strange, and if not for the Cloak of levitation catching Stephen by his shoulders at the last minute, he would have fallen to the floor, taking Tony and the chair with him.

 

“-erhm, no… not exactly” Strange blinked and cleared his throat, again averting his gaze not knowing what else to think about the situation entirely appearing just as flustered at his own folly. Likewise, his own pulse had quickened and his fingers went slack in Tony’s shirt, arms retreating to his sides as he let the cloak lifted him gently off of his feet.

 

_Maybe he enjoyed the contact?_ However, it was clear the cloak didn’t though.

 

_The reassurance was…nice._

 

Tony let go as well, his hands gently sliding free as Stephen’s went slack and he just watched as the doctor somewhat rag-dolled in the cloak’s clutches like a disciplined pup picked up by it’s hackles.

 

“I haven’t been sleeping well” As if the pale complexion and heavy bags under his eyes weren’t an indication of that. By his will, the cloak slowly let him down again so his feet were touching the floor.

 

“-no… and you don’t look like you’ve recovered since Titan” Tony jumped in, it was almost hard to hide the look of unease, and honestly at the moment he didn’t really care to. “Frankly doc, you look awful…What’s going on Strange? Do I need to get you medical attention? **Do** **I** need to take a look at you?

 

Stephen knit his brow at that comment and waved his hand to stop Tony from admonishing him further.

 

“-No, I’m fine. I just haven’t slept well - This is just a common flu, I’m only human, everyone gets them” He let out another deep breath.

 

“You’ve been sick for weeks, now I’m no doctor-” Tony started.

 

Strange flashed him _a look_ as if telling him  _not to even go there._

 

_"-_ But you need to seek out some  _actual_ medical help, none of this spiritual meditating or home remedy mumbo-jumbo”

 

“-Tony..”

 

“Oh for christ sake Stephen you used to be a doctor, you of all people should know-”

 

“I’m still a doctor Tony.” He rubbed his sinuses, this time out of frustration and sat back down on the mattress. His cloak released him once he was sitting and dared to put itself between Stark who was huffing up a storm. 

 

It was hard for Tony to watch someone who roughly a month ago took on a titan, and all things considered was probably one of the fiercest allies in combat he had next to Thor. Someone who could bend reality at will, banish an inter-dimensional deity all while being one of the most self-sacrificing individuals Tony had come to know. Watching him deteriorate bit by bit in front of him -  _To a common flu? No, this was something more._

 

Tony attempted to push by the levitating red  _cape_ and was met with a slap to the face from one of it’s corners. 

 

He frowned in response, batting at it again and Strange couldn’t help but stifle a gentle chortle.

 

“That’s it, you’re coming with me, I don’t want to hear it.” Tony yet again attempted to circumvent the cloak and grab ahold of strange but rather than receiving another stern reprimand from the equally stubborn piece of outwear, he’d reached out to capture Stephen’s wrist and immediately received a jolt to his system causing him to retract his grasp.

 

There was no serious injury, it was more like he’d just been tasered.

 

_Tony had surely taken worse._

 

But that didn’t stop the look of confusion on Tony’s face as he gawked back at strange with an inquisitive stare. He would have taken the affront personally if Stephen’s eyes hadn’t rolled back and the sorcerer promptly fainted right after…?

 

Stephen’s body had gone slack and he fell once again. And Tony,  _once again_ dove to grab him by his shoulders before he could hit the floor.

 

Despite what had previously happened when he’d tried to grab Strange, this time he was able to safely catch him, having come between the cloak and it’s master and lifting him back up onto the bedside to rest.

 

Stephen let out a faint groan, his wrist was smoldering as he heaved.

 

A dark smoke plumed from his hand where now ebony snaking veins pulsated through his fingers and wrist. His hands continued to tremble and seize and Tony attempted to hold his wrist steady, looking at the cloak for some sort of answer.

 

“Common flu my ass, Strange what the hell is going on?” Tony’s eyes darted back to his wrist and the smoke coming out.

 

A deep crimson mark etched itself into the center of his forehead causing Stephen to cry out in pain. 

 

Tony then noticed the emblem engraved in his forehead. Two parallel crescent marks that converged at their midpoints and arched apart as they swept away from each other. Another which intersected horizontally with two smaller parallel tracks pointing down towards the bridge of his nose from the center.

 

Tony hadn’t seen anything like it before, but by the restless swaying in Stephen’s relic, it signified that it had.

 

“Strange, buddy - wake up” Tony gave him a couple taps on the cheek to try and jostle him awake, but the doctor was out cold.

 

“Stephen!”

 

_No answer_

 

_“STEPHEN!”_


	2. Inception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen wakes up, again. Wong has questions and Tony wants to know what the hell is going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you for all the encouragement and comments on the last chapter! I really enjoy having writing to decompress after work despite still struggling with it. It means a lot that people showed interest in my story! Hope you enjoy the next chapter installment and illustration, sorry for all the grim-images I keep choosing to draw >_>"

 

_What is darkness without light? What is all consuming shadow without a sun that eclipses to bear it’s zenith? One could not surely know the other, without the other. Two parts of one whole, yet separate in nature. To snuff out the light would dissolve the shadow in turn. In the end we are all connected, every single one of us._

 

_Then are we really so fragmented? So alone in the end?_

 

_Not a beacon, nor a fixed point of reference. Anything?_

 

_Nothing._

 

_Darkness was everywhere and so dense. It was heavy and almost crushing, and so opaque in it’s nothingness as Strange felt himself soaring through an empty void, going god knows where._

 

_There was no way to orient oneself, gravity could not be utilized as a method of gaining one’s bearings. There was no way to tell which way was up, or which was was down._

 

_Just all-encompassing emptiness._

 

_Empty space, inside and out._

 

_…_

 

_Separateness._

 

_Loneliness was an all consuming monster, a parasite which fed upon whatever it could grasp and devoured until there was nothing left but a hollow husk. An all-consuming maw who’s voracious tendencies were interminable._

 

- _Suddenly there was a spec of light in the darkness, a beacon of sort. It drew closer and as it breached on the horizon, more appeared in turn. There were several now, hundreds - and thousands. The horizon bled blue, purple, red and green like a watercolour painting. Splotchy smears of nebulas and myriads of celestial bodies littered the sky as a universe formed before his very eyes in a single blink._

 

_Planets tethered to one another by dark cords of infectious tendrils. They collided and bobbed against one another, careening too and fro and then recoiling on impact with thunderous crashes in harmonious discord._

 

_Stephen attempted to move but his arms failed him, likewise his legs refused to respond all the same. He could only faintly crane his neck to look around him. Now, under the light of a sea of stars - with a harsh realization_ _that_ _his body had been tethered to the terrain of one of those planets._

 

_It moved and twitched almost symbiotically, responding to his consciousness. Black, placid sickly tendrils which had assimilated his hands and held taught his legs, twitched under his opposition. He could barely wriggle his fingers to know they were still mobile, and apart of him before those dark, leathery coils shifted and tightened around his limbs._

 

_A soft groan escaped him, and half lidded eyes watched as those infernal irises parted upon body-less eyelids. A rippling, starry visage loomed above him forming from the surrounding space._

 

_Strange knew where he was entirely. Yet he was still lost._

 

_“It’s been some time” Came an incorporeal voice, low and visceral._

 

_Those eyes, those burning eyes from earlier - They had returned and they were fixated on him._

 

_Dormammu._

 

_With intensity he met the dark titanic lord with equal animus to his leer._

 

_“Not long enough” Strange returned with a gravelly voice. The titan’s eyes widened and Stephen felt something constrict around his throat causing him to let out a choked gasp._

 

_“We had a deal-” He continued, no fear this time. His drawbacks were merely physical and not mental. Stephen wondered how he could have been drawn into the dark dimension, he had severed all ties to the physical plane when the sanctums were restored, had he not?_

 

_This was a nightmare, nothing more and nothing less._

 

_It had to be…?_

 

_“Think what you will but this is very real” Dormammu corrected._

 

_He was in his head._

 

_The dark rune on Stephen’s forehead began to glow crimson, discharging an ebony smoke  and triggering an immense amount of pain. The splitting headache returned and the astral monstrosity in front of him watched on in continued amusement._

 

_“I am no longer concerned with your treaties” The voice boomed_ _“Your_ _tricks will no longer work here without the time stone, your powers are inconsequential” A sense of dread began to creep over Strange just like it had before._

 

_It was true._

 

_“Earth will be mine" He began, his violet irises darting back and fourth over the doctor’s prone form_ _“-And_ _you, and every one of your sorcerers will aid me in it’s conquest”_

 

_“-I would sooner die” Stephen spat between gritted teeth._

 

_“In time, but you have no say on the matter” The dark lord chuckled, he was enjoying his ace in the hole._

 

_“No one will follow your cause. Kaecilius and his accomplices were fools to follow you, I can assure you the rest of them will not be privy to your games Dormammu. They will find a way, they will stop you, even if I can’t”_

 

_“They will serve me, just like you already have” He continued, amusement lacing his voice as he flirted with his captive._

 

_“You’ve already helped me in so many ways Strange. The least I can do is let you walk one more time, before I take it all away from you” An amused deep chuckle followed._ _"I_ _will strip you down, and you will watch helplessly as everything - everyone you’ve ever loved is taken away from you, bit by bit."_

 

_“I’ve done nothing for you”_

 

_Stephen made another attempt to escape his bonds, right hand tremoring as it pulled against the vine-like substance. He managed to break free from it's grasp only to have another sling out and grapple onto his wrist again, towing it back down to the ground. Stephen let out another loud grunt, his entire body tensing as his stomach heaved under it’s restraints._

 

_He couldn’t cast a single spell with his hands disabled and his breathing was labored under those suffocating vines._

 

_It was getting harder to breath and the lack of sufficient air had him light-headed._

 

_“You came to see me and in doing so bestowed upon me a gift” He continued, lording over his prisoner like he was some tiny insect._ _“You_ _gave me time, and with that time I set into motion a plan for my greatest legacy” The waves in Dormammu’s face rippled idly as his visage swayed overhead._

 

_“You- Strange, will be my conduit, you will be mine” His eyes narrowed fixedly and the mark in Stephen’s forehead flared up once again causing the subjugated sorcerer to cry out in pain through gritted teeth as he tried to repress himself._

 

_“Over my dead body” He managed to rasp._

 

_“Not quite yet” Those vines constricted and once again Stephen felt the darkness begin to creep in like a thick veil. His eyes grew heavy and the shimmering expanse in front of him fell out of his gaze as his mind went blank._

 

A _nd then he drowned in the bottomless abyss of his own mind._

 

Everything went cold.

 

Everything was cold…

 

_So cold…_

 

Stephen was finally lucid.

 

The pain and pressure of his bonds had melted away and his breathing had evened out. He could breath again unhindered but there was still a knocking pressure within his head that refused to desist. All of his other ailments had either disappeared or temporarily subsided f _or the moment_ .

 

He dared to open his eyes just a crack.

 

Light, not darkness was what greeted him in all it’s welcoming warmth.

 

He let out a soft groan and his eyes parted further, but the light flooded his vision so entirely he could hardly see until he adjusted to it. 

 

It was uncharacteristic to the dim comforting lights of the rustic New York sanctum. The air here smelled different, familiar yet not of his own dwelling. It smelled mechanical, like a workshop and he could hear the faint sounds of low humming machinery which overtook the ambiance in the air around him.

 

“Boss, he’s awake” A soft feminine voice soothed.

 

_What..?_

 

Stephen grunted, his hands twitched and he’d brought his arms in closer so he could draw more warmth in against his frigid body and tuck his face into the plush pillow it was set upon.

 

_Dammnit why was it so cold here?_

 

The sound of a pin-pad beeped as inputs were keyed in and then a door slid open. Strange heard hasty footfalls approaching him as two people rushed into the room.

 

“Stephen” Wong’s voice was the first he could make out followed by a “Strange!” From what sounded like Tony. 

 

Both were at his side, no time wasted.

 

The two of them had perched at his bedside and he couldn’t have been happier to hear a familiar voice.

 

“What happened?” Came the other sorcerer’s inquiry, he was hovering over Stephen while Tony hadn’t wasted any time retrieving another blanket and a bottle of water for him. He draped a thick quilt over Strange’s shoulders and put the bottle down on a table beside him.

 

They were in some sort of medical bay, presumably either at a hospital or one of Tony’s facilities.

 

“Alright Strange, talk to me - What the hell happened back there?” Stark jumped the subject immediately. Wong looked over at Tony and raised a hand to him to try and calm him.

 

“Easy Stark, he just woke up" Stephen struggled to focus on one over the other as he sat up. 

 

The first thing he noticed were his surroundings. He was not at a conventional hospital to begin with, and there were also no other patients. The room was large and lit brightly with white overhead lights and a lot of unidentifiable, high-tech machinery. The second, was that there were no nurses and he was on some medical table or bed that seemed to be monitoring his vitals.

 

“Was this really necessary…?” Strange looked between the two of them, Wong’s eyes flicked to Stark and Tony shook his head.

 

“Yes it was necessary -Strange, buddy you nearly gave me a heart attack” His hands were on his hips and Tony had a mixture of concern and irritation written on his face.

 

“Where am I?”

 

“Avengers HQ” Tony chimed in. Stephen looked between Tony and Wong, and his heart began to race with panic.

 

“Who is looking after New York then?!” 

 

“The sanctum will be fine, what’s important is you right now” Wong responded. Stephen only shook his head. “I have my students looking after Hong Kong and New York, they will be fine for now-”

 

“-No, the sanctum is not fine” His eyes darted back  and forth, everything starting to come flooding back to him. His hand immediately went to his forehead to inspect it, but the mark was gone. However, the dark black track marks on his hand still remained.

 

“I need to get back now” He attempted to get off of the medical bed. Wong and Tony exchanged quick glances and Tony reached over to put a hand on Stephen’s shoulder to keep him from jumping to his feet.

 

“No, you need rest, you’re staying put” Tony put some weight on his shoulder.

 

“Tony, let go of me”

 

“I’m not going to do that Strange, you’ve been sick for weeks, not to mention the weird glowing symbol on your forehead -and you’ve got God knows what on your hand” Gesturing at the black veins. “Look man, I’m already giving you a break by not taking you to the hospital. We need to compromise on this, okay?” Tony, making hand gestures was starting to get irate with Stephen’s reluctance to accept his hospitality.

 

_He cared dammit_ .

 

“Stephen you are staying here and that’s final. You are clearly unwell and need professional assistance. I overlooked this for the first few weeks but clearly something is up. What is so urgent that we need to get back to the sanctum so quickly?” Wong stared him down with a stone-face.

 

“Dormammu-I-” Wong wrinkled his brow, Tony just looked confused as Stephen stumbled on his words. “My nightmares-” He started “At first they were just normal dreams, but they started to change, he started appearing” He looked down, starting to grow a little hysterical as if there was something off about him “At first I thought it was all a dream, but it felt so real, as if he’d pulled me into the dark dimension-”

 

Tony tapped his foot impatiently.

 

“Uhh, does somebody want to tell me what’s going on here?” He took off his glasses, looking between the two sorcerers like they were speaking a different language.

 

“-Stark, remember when I told you about how we safeguard your reality from mystical threats? Dormammu is the most dangerous of them all. A couple years back he threatened to devour our world, the sanctums which safeguard our world - acting as magical seal to keep him out, were destroyed.” Wong started, Tony squinted his eyes looking frustrated.

 

“Although it’s impossible now, the sanctums were restored and Stephen - you said you’d made a deal with him, to leave our world alone”

 

“-I did, but he’s found a way around that…” Strange shook his head. “Something about using me, and using other practitioners of the mystic arts as pawns…” He took a deep breath “I also wouldn’t be able to just undo whatever it is he did, if he in fact did it when I first banished him” He trailed off.

 

“-Yeah and he had this weird mark on his head” Tony jumped in, pointing at his own forehead for emphasis.

 

“Just like Kaecillius and his zealots” Strange added.

 

“I don’t understand” Wong looked confused “There is no way he is able to reach out to us unless there is a gateway open somewhere.” He started “A means for him to stay connected to the physical plane of existence…Stephen, that mark, where is it now?”

 

“On my forehead, or so it was"

 

Wong looked over to Tony who was simply a helpless bystander in this conversation.

 

“And you said you saw the mark on Stephen’s forehead before he passed out?” Wong looked genuinely disturbed. Tony simply nodded his head.

 

“Could Dormammu possibly be using you as a conduit to maintain a connection?” He started, looking at Stephen. Stephen’s gaze bounced nervously between Tony, who had an unreadable expression on his face, tapping his foot and chewing on his bottom lip.  "A means to connect himself to the mystic arts and possibly harness it. The old sorcerer supreme drew on his power to prolong her life, perhaps in turn Dormammu has found a way to hone in on the flows of mystical energy and in turn do something similar.”

 

“If so we need to somehow break this link or whatever” Tony piped up, tired of standing around and not saying anything. "Kaecillius-or-whoever opened the door and when Strange thought he'd closed it, he jammed his foot in the way."

 

“And now we need to find a way to close it, but it's more complicated than we think. There's a tether, a link keeping him connected to me" The anxiety was growing in Stephen’s chest, eyes darting around in thought as he tried to come up with the solution.

 

There was a collective moment of realization.

 

“That’s it, isn't it” Tony started “We break the bond, you get better!” As if it was that simple.

 

“We don’t even know what we are dealing with Stark, but linking Stephen’s illness to whatever Dormammu spoke of seems like the most plausible deduction at this moment” Wong responded.

 

“Stephen you are in better care here, safer, away from the sanctum which is the strongest magical point that Dormammu would be drawn to.” He began “I will go back and look into this to see what I can do. In the meantime you rest and recover and once you are feeling somewhat better, we will sort this out”

 

“So what, I’m just supposed to stand here and play doctor?” Tony blurted out to Wong as the other sorcerer was already conjuring a gateway with his sling-ring back to the sanctum.

 

“Yes” Came the brief, distant response before the whirling portal closed leaving sparking embers scattered across the floor.

 

Strange’s brow wrinkled, he observed his blue tunic sitting on his bedside table, boots neatly lined up at the side of his bed and his leather cummerbund and sling rings neatly set aside. He was in an unbuttoned flannel and loose pair of sweatpants. 

 

_These weren’t his._

 

Assuming it was the only other decent clothes stark had lying around and were easier to examine him in…

 

_Ah, right._

 

“Tony, who put me in these clothes…?”

 

“About that…”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the delays so far in getting the next chapter out, I will be collaborating with Foxglove_Fiction to finish the rest of this story. I just find it hard to procure time to write these days on my own!


End file.
